Aladdin Muhammad Hussein al-Aaraj was minister of national economy in the government formed by Hamas between March 2006 and March 2007.

Al-Aaraj was born in Gaza in 1964, although his family is originally from Beit Jirja. He holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from al-Najah University in Nablus. Since then he has been head of the board of directors of a group of trading and contracting firms as well as head of the Palestinian Contractors Union in Gaza and secretary of the engineers syndicate in Gaza. He was a member of the coordinating council of the Palestinian private sector institutions. He was detained in Israeli occupation prisons between 1991 and 1993, under charges of ‘resisting the occupation.’